Mini umbrella company (MUC) fraud reduces tax payments to HMRC including PAYE, National Insurance and VAT. This has resulted in a fraudulent supply chain leading to financial and reputational damage to businesses and workers.What is Mini Umbrella Company Fraud?The fraud is usually based around the abuse of two Government incentives which are aimed at small businesses – the VAT Flat Rate Scheme and the Employment Allowance. However, this type of fraud can also result in the non-payment of … [Read more...]
Medical Workers – Ltd to Umbrella pre IR35
The medical industry is one that will undoubtedly be affected by the changes IR35 will bring, yes, it is finally coming around again. Although there have been hopes that it will be delayed further, end clients are being told to prepare. HMRC have also stated that PSC’s won’t be subject to IR35 compliance checks, putting further emphasis on the hirer to determine status and possibly be the ones penalised if they get it wrong.With many workers and Locums trading as Ltd companies still within … [Read more...]
Immigration law changes, is your business ready?
Following the departure of Great Britain from the EU, the transition period ends in December. From January 2021, new rules will apply.One topic businesses need to ensure they have covered is the immigration law changes, which will affect business that employ workers from the EU.As many businesses will already be aware, EU nationals will have to apply for the EU settlement scheme to continue to live and work in the UK and have until the 30th June 2021 to apply for the scheme.On the … [Read more...]
Temporary staff numbers increase following lockdown
Availability of candidates saw a rise for the time in 20 years, reflecting redundancies announced by many companies across Britain following lockdown. It is estimated there has been over 700,000 job losses so far due to the pandemic, with numbers expected to reach over 1 million by the end of 2020.Billing from temporary hiring’s rose for the first time in 7 months. There was also a rise in billings from companies hiring permanent workers in August but the increase was worryingly small, the … [Read more...]
£11 billion boost for taxpayers facing difficulty due to coronavirus
Anyone who has difficulty paying their second 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment payment on account can take advantage of automatically deferring the payment until 31 January 2021, HMRC is reminding taxpayers.The second Self Assessment payment on account for 2019 to 2020 is ordinarily due at the end of July, but the government previously announced it is supporting the self-employed and others by allowing them to defer this payment.This option to defer is on top of additional support … [Read more...]
Tax credits update
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding tax credits customers that they need to tell HMRC about any changes in their circumstances or income by 31 July 2020.Tax credits help working families with targeted financial support so it is important that people don’t miss out on money that they are entitled to.Renewing tax credits online is quick and easy. Customers can log onto GOV.UK to check the progress of their renewal, be reassured that it’s being processed, and know when they will hear … [Read more...]
Scam Advice
A number of people across the UK have fallen victim of HMRC scams such as bogus phone calls, WhatsApp messages, Tax refunds and most recently coronavirus scams.If someone texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC and asks for credit card or bank details it is likely to be a scam. The scams mimic HMRC messages in an effort to look genuine.The most recent scam is via text for a ‘goodwill payment‘ telling customers they can claim a goodwill payment due to the coronavirus. One example … [Read more...]
Summer statement: what you need to know
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced measures in the summer statement to help the UK recover from the effects of the coronavirus.Below we have put together a summarised brief of the announcements.Jobs Retention Bonus: If an employer brings back a furloughed employee and keeps them in the job to January, then the Government will pay a £1,000 bonus per employee. Sunak stated, "It's vital people aren't just returning for the sake of it - they need to be doing decent work.”For businesses … [Read more...]
Is PAYE the way forward post Covid-19?
With over 8 million employees in the UK receiving furlough through the CJRS recruitment agencies are seeking alternative options to umbrella but is PAYE the way forward?PAYE V’s UmbrellaMany contractors and agencies get confused by umbrella, umbrella is a form of PAYE where the payroll provider deducts the standard PAYE deductions from the contractors earnings and submits these to the government. The agency provides the contractor with an ‘agency rate’ which is an uplifted rate of pay to … [Read more...]
HMRC Tackling Construction Industry Scheme Abuse
HMRC have launched a consultation concerning ways to tackle abuse of the construction industry scheme.The consultation seeks views on changes to the rules to prevent tax loss from the CIS. HMRC will have the power to correct the CIS deduction amounts claimed by sub-contractors on their Real Time Information (RTI) Employer Payment Summary (EPS) returns and seeks views on the implementation process.The 10 week consultation started on the 19th March and will conclude on the 28th May … [Read more...]